An eschatological, non-denominational ministry

African forest fires in spotlight after Amazon outcry

Blog note. Jesus indicated that ‘fearful
sights’ (various natural disasters) would occur leading up to the time known as
the Tribulation and Great Tribulation (a combined seven year period of great
destruction on earth). Although these types of things have occurred in the past
for centuries and thousands of years, they could be identified as the ‘season
of the times’ due to the ferociousness of these events. They would be occurring
in greater intensity, severity, frequency, size, duration, scope … just like
the pains that a woman experiences in labor the farther along she is in the
labor process. We are in the ‘season of the times’ that comes just before the
seven (7) year Tribulation/Great Tribulation period

… And great earthquakes shall be in diverse places, and famines, and pestilences;
and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven. (Luke 21:11).

… And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and
upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves
roaring; (Luke 21:25)

… Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which
are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken; (Luke 21:26)

… This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2 Timothy
3:1)

Jesus is giving a series of prophecies about what to look for as the age of
grace comes to a close. These verses are several of many such prophecies from
throughout the Bible. 2017 was the worst year in recorded history for the
intensity, frequency, severity, duration and occurrence of a large number of
severe natural disasters worldwide. Earthquakes, volcanoes, hurricanes,
typhoons, cyclones, torrential flooding, unprecedented wildfires in unusual
places, devastating droughts, excessive/scorching heat setting records
everywhere, record snowfalls in Europe and Russia. Snow in the Arabia. This
list can go on. Most studied Eschatologists believe these ‘fearful sights’ and
massive natural disasters are all part of the ‘CONVERGENCE’ of signs that this
Biblical and prophetic age is closing. Most people who study prophecy are
familiar with the routine reference(s) made that these things will be like
a woman having labor pains, growing in intensity, frequency, size and duration.

African forest fires in spotlight
after Amazon outcry

Samir TOUNSI. AFP•August 26, 2019

Kinshasa
(AFP) – In NASA satellite images, forest
fires in central Africa appear to burn alarmingly like a red chain from Gabon
to Angola similar to the blazes in Brazil’s Amazon that sparked global outcry.

At the G7 summit this week, French
President Emmanuel Macron tweeted about the central Africa fires and said
nations were examining a similar initiative to the one proposed to combat
Brazil’s blazes.

G7 nations
have pledged $20 million on the Amazon, mainly on fire-fighting aircraft.

Macron’s
concern may be legitimate, but experts say central Africa’s rainforest fires
are often more seasonal and linked to traditional seasonal farming methods.

No doubt the region is key for the
climate: The Congo Basin forest is commonly referred to as the “second
green lung” of the planet after the Amazon.

The forests cover an area of 3.3
million square kilometres in several countries, including about a third in the
Democratic Republic of Congo, and the rest in Gabon, Congo, Cameroon and
Central Africa.

Just like the Amazon, the forests of
the Congo Basin absorb tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) in trees and peat marshes –
seen by experts as a key way to combat climate change. They are also
sanctuaries for endangered species.

But most of
the fires shown on the NASA maps of Africa are outside sensitive rainforest
areas, analysts say, and drawing comparisons to the Amazon is also complex.

“The
question now is to what extent we can compare,” said Philippe Verbelen, a
Greenpeace forest campaigner working on the Congo Basin.

“Fire
is quite a regular thing in Africa. It’s part of a cycle, people in the dry
season set fire to bush rather than to dense, moist rainforest.”

Guillaume
Lescuyer, a central African expert at the French agricultural research and
development centre CIRAD, also said the fires seen in NASA images were mostly
burning outside the rain forest.

Angola’s
government also urged caution, saying swift comparisons to the Amazon may lead
to “misinformation of more reckless minds”.

The fires
were usual at the end of the dry season, the Angolan ministry of environment
said.

“It
happens at this time of the year, in many parts of our country, and fires are
caused by farmers with the land in its preparation phase, because of the
proximity of the rainy season,” it said.

– Different
risks –

Though less
publicised than the Amazon, the Congo Basin forests still face dangers.

“The
forest burns in Africa but not for the same causes,” said Tosi Mpanu
Mpanu, an ambassador and climate negotiator for the DR Congo.

“In the Amazon, the forest burns
mainly because of drought and climate change, but in central Africa, it is
mainly due to agricultural techniques.”

Many farmers use slash-and-burn
farming to clear forest. In DR Congo, only nine percent of the population has
access to electricity and many people use wood for cooking and energy.

DR Congo President Felix Tshisekedi
has warned the rainforests are threatened if the country does not improve its
hydro-electric capacity.

Deforestation is also a risk in Gabon
and parts of the DR Congo, as well as damage from mining and oil projects.

Some
countries are now implementing stricter environmental policies. Gabon, for
example, has declared 13 national parks that make up 11 percent of its national
territory.

DR Congo has
declared a moratorium on new industrial logging licences but that has not
stopped artisanal cutting, which industrial loggers can exploit.

“We
need to protect the forests that are still largely intact and stop
degradation,” said Greenpeace’s Verbelen. “The forests that are still
intact remain an important buffer for future climate change.”